Mount Cameroon
Mount Cameroon is an active stratovolcano rising to an altitude of 4040 meters, being the highest point and one of the natural attractions of the Republic of Cameroon. The locals call the peak “Mongo ma Ndemi” or “The Great Mountain”. It has two peaks and the volcano is often called “Fako” after the highest of them. It erupted 8 times in the 20th century. In 1922 there was a significant outpouring of lava from the southwestern slope, which, burning everything in its path, reached the Atlantic coast. The last major eruption of Mount Cameroon occurred in 2000.
Video: Mount Cameroon
General Information
Today, climbing to the summit is very popular with tourists visiting Cameroon. Most travelers come here from December to February. Mount Cameroon is not particularly technically difficult and there are several varied routes to it.
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The lookout, which goes by the name of Mountain Hotel, offers a superb panorama of the town of Buea and the spurs of the mountains covered with evergreen forests and alpine meadows. At the highest point you can see the picturesque expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. However, it should be borne in mind that the very top of the mountain is often closed by clouds..
The slopes of Mount Cameroon are surrounded by cinder cones of basalt and andesite rocks. Closer to the summit, vegetation disappears, giving way to bare rocky slopes and small snowfields. Every year in February, Mount Cameroon hosts the “Race of Hope”, during which thousands of climbers try to reach the summit for a time. Such races were first held in 1973.
.History of exploration and climbing
The first descriptions of the African peak were made in the 5th century BC, when the Carthaginian navigator Gannon visited the west coast of Africa. In 1472, Portuguese ships were looking for a passage around the African continent to India and also discovered a notable, stand-alone mountain.
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The first European to climb Mount Cameroon was British traveler and diplomat Sir Richard Francis Breton. And 34 years later, the famous African explorer and writer Mary Henrietta Kingsley visited here.
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How to get there
Mount Cameroon rises near the Gulf of Guinea, in the southwest of the country. The road to the summit starts from the town of Buea. Travelers flying into the international airport of the Cameroonian city of Douala can reach Buea by shuttle bus or cab (80 km).
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